Ownership of private jets among Nigeria’s elite ‘Men of God’ is no longer news but when one of such preachers turn down a gift of a private jet, it qualifies as news item.
This report centers around the General Overseer of Auchi-based Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman, who disclosed in an interview published on Sunday that he recently rejected a private jet given to him as a gift by a businessman.
The controversial cleric, who did not disclose the identity of the businessman, said he accepted the gift, but had to politely turn it down after he discovered the source of the giver’s wealth “was not sincere”.
Apostle Suleman, who just ended the Johannesburg, South Africa, version of the Restoration Conference 2016 and will be moving to Kigali, the Rwandan capital later this month, also faulted those criticizing clerics with private jets, saying it is not a crime to own one as long as it aids in spreading the gospel across the world faster.
His words: “It is no crime for a man of God to have a private jet, if it is meant to reach the world faster in spreading God’s mission”.
In response to a question that he has joined the league of pastors with private jets, Suleman said “I don’t have one yet. The truth is that, I was given a private plane as a gift about one month ago. But God told me that the giver was not pure. So I rejected it. You may have seen the pictures of the jet on the internet. In fact, I collected it. But when I prayed over it and found out that the source of the giver’s wealth wasn’t sincere, I politely turned it down”.